How tough is it to eat healthy on a budget? The advice Web site DivineCaroline gets you started with a list of 20 healthy foods for under $1.
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Some items on the list, like oats or eggs, aren’t all that surprising to experienced budget shoppers. But a few, like kale, wild rice or garbanzo beans, may not be regulars in your shopping cart. Not surprisingly, none of the foods on this list are prepared or processed, meaning that healthful eating on a budget will require more time in the kitchen.
For people who don’t see many foods on the list that they would eat, DivineCaroline suggests finding similar foods in the same areas of the grocery store where these are stocked.
Getting the most nutrition for the least amount of money means hanging out on the peripheries — near the fruits and veggies, the meat and dairy, and the bulk grains — while avoiding the expensive packaged interior… Although that bag of 99 cent Cheetos may look like a bargain, knowing that you’re not getting much in the way of nutrition or sustenance makes it seem less like a deal and more like a dupe. Choosing one of these 20 items, or the countless number of similarly nutritious ones, might just stretch that dollar from a snack into a meal.
Here’s the DivineCaroline list of 20 healthy foods for under $1:
1. Oats: High in fiber and good for cholesterol. A dollar buys you a week’s worth of breakfast or keeps you well-supplied in oatmeal cookies.
2. Eggs: Costing about a dollar for a half-dozen, these are one of the cheapest sources of protein, says DivineCaroline. The site suggests huevos rancheros, egg salad sandwiches and frittatas.
3. Kale: At about a dollar a bunch, this is one of the cheapest greens you’ll find in the supermarket. Toss into a stir-fry or check out recipes for German-style kale or traditional Irish colcannon.
4. Potatoes: Stay away from fries and chips, and eat them skin and all as a good source of vitamin C and potassium. Choose sweet potatoes or yams for an added serving of beta carotene. Here’s a recipe for easy breakfast potatoes that uses just 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
5. Apples: Tasty, cheap and filling, apples are a fun way to dress up a meal, either cooked or turned into applesauce.
6. Nuts: Some nuts like pecans and macadamias cost more, but peanuts, walnuts and almonds, particularly when bought in the shell, won’t break your budget. Eat them plain or sprinkle in salads. Nuts aren’t as fattening as you might think. Read more in Going Nuts for the Holidays.
7. Bananas: Shop around for deals; DivineCaroline found them for 19 cents apiece at Trader Joe’s. A dollar gets you a banana a day for the workweek, and they are great in smoothies, cereal and with yogurt.
8. Garbanzo Beans: Also known as chickpeas, garbanzos are cheapeast in dry form, but even precooked beans will still only cost about a dollar. If you don’t like garbanzos, any bean will do. Check out DivineCaroline’s recipe for orange hummus.
9. Broccoli: Easy to make and cheap, broccoli is a no-brainer for any budget meal.
10. Watermelon: The whole melon costs more than a dollar, but the per-serving cost is only about 20 cents, the site says.
11. Wild Rice: About the same as white rice, but better for you with a nutty flavor.
12. Beets: Roasted in the oven or shred into salads, beets are packed with nutrients. For extra value, buy them with greens on for stir fry or to toss in a salad. Beets have been a popular topic on Well. Check out Pass the Beets, Again for several recipes that take beets beyond the can.
13. Butternut Squash: In season, the butternut squash costs less than a dollar a pound. It can be tough to cut up, but it’s hearty and easy to bake or prepare as a soup. Check out DivineCaroline’s pear and squash bruschetta.
14. Whole Grain Pasta: A cheap staple, but pick the whole grain variety for added nutritional punch.
15. Sardines: A little fish so low on the food chain it doesn’t accumulate mercury and packs tons of nutrition. Mash them with parsley, lemon juice and olive oil for a spread or toss into salads or on pizza.
16. Spinach: Cheap year-round, packed with nutrition and great in salads or a spinach frittata.
17. Tofu: An inexpensive protein source. Add to smoothies for a protein boost, suggests DivineCaroline.
18. Milk: Per serving, milk and many milk products like yogurt are still under a dollar.
19. Pumpkin Seeds: Not the most practical item on the list because most of us aren’t carving pumpkins every day and they are expensive to buy on their own. Still, they are great on salads and as a snack, so it’s always worth saving pumpkin seeds when you have a pumpkin.
20. Coffee: Skip the Starbucks and make it at home, where it’s just 50 cents a cup. Plus, there’s plenty of evidence that it’s good for you.
And for lots more advice on cutting your food budget, check out these links. SmartMoney.com tells you 8 Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill and also offers the best coupon-clipping sites and advice on the best and worst warehouse club deals.
Bon Appetit offers a luxury meal for less as well as a week of simple dinners for less than $100.
And read my previous Well posts on budget eating, including The Dollar-A-Day Diet and Holiday Feasting on a Budget.
So what do you think of the DivineCaroline list? And what are your ideas for healthy eating on a tight budget?
Healthy living doesn't happen at the doctor's office. The road to better health is paved with the small decisions we make every day. It's about the choices we make when we buy groceries, drive our cars and hang out with our kids. Join columnist Tara Parker-Pope as she sifts through medical research and expert opinions for practical advice to help readers take control of their health and live well every day. You can reach Ms. Parker-Pope at 
The easiest and most pleasurable way to eat well is to cook. Recipes for Health offers recipes with an eye towards empowering you to cook healthy meals every day. 
From 1 to 25 of 299 Comments
Thanks for the timely post! I’m afraid that a strong backlash against organic and other healthy foods is beginning as the economy tanks, and most of the media seems to be happy to fan the flames. We need reminding that good foods can be had for good money.
My blog, Basic Eating, lists the prices of some of the foods that I have written about on a per Calorie basis. Not surprisingly, fatty foods like oils are the cheapest, but there are many good foods available for less than 1 cent per Calorie.
— Jeremy Warner#11 “Wild rice” probably should read brown rice. The description fits that better. Wild rice is not a rice at all but a grass, is fiendishly delicious, but also rather expensive.
FROM TPP — The Web site is pretty specific that they mean wild rice. Here’s the full excerpt:
11. Wild Rice It won’t cost you much more than white rice, but wild rice is much better for you. Low in fat and high in protein and fiber, this gluten-free rice is a great source of complex carbohydrates. It packs a powerful potassium punch and is loaded with B vitamins. Plus, it has a nutty, robust flavor. Serving suggestions: Mix with nuts and veggies for a cold rice salad; blend with brown rice for a side dish.
— Mary LaRueTypo — “wild rice” should be “brown rice”. Wild rice is (a) not rice, (b) not cheap.
Good list, though! Basically, eating vegetarian is cheap, as long as you cook it yourself.
— HarlanOn the comment about butternut squash being difficult to cut up, if you pierce it, and them microwave it on high for just a minute or so, it’s then much easier to cut or slice. Same goes for other hard squashes, like acorn or pumpkin
FROM TPP — I’m going to try this. I have a butternut squash sitting on my kitchen counter and I can’t bring myself to cook it. I just hate cutting the thing up…
— KateI’d like to put in a good word for canned veggies, fruits, and beans. Read the labels carefully to make sure there are no chemical additives. Canned peaches and carrots are absolutely delicious. Canned beans, too! And inexpensive.
FROM TPP — Personally, I think frozen veggies are a better option. Not only are more of hte nutrients lost in heat processing of canned food, but cans use liners made with bisphenol-A or BPA, resulting in relatively high BPA concentrations in canned food. BPA has been associated with various ill effects, so while the science is still evolving, I think it makes sense to reduce exposure when possible, particularly for children.
— IolantheExcept for the milk, eggs and fish, I’ve been eating this way for over 20 years. It’s called a vegan diet. After a while, it becomes a habit.
It’s a fortunate irony that the healthiest way to eat is probably the least expensive. When people ask me why I’m a vegan, I don’t say ‘health’ anymore because that can bring on their resentment. They don’t want to face the fact that it’s healthier.
Maybe I’ll say “it’s cheaper!” from now on.
— RThe fact that Tara had to say “if there aren’tmany things on the list you think you’d eat..” is sort of a depressing statement. Sure beets and kale may seem odd but if a person reads this list and find only two -or less - items they woukld eat then they need to SERIOUSLY reassess their food habits.
— AndreaOne more wild rice comment: one doesn’t eat wild rice on it’s lonesome (you’d be chewing for days), but a bit of it is great in pilafs.
— Raj NagaGreat list. All new mothers should get a copy of it to realize the benefits of cooking for your children and not relying on prepared foods or takeout.
— AndreaWhat kind of coffee are you drinking at home?
— Joseph T.I can drink Maxwell House for 5 cents a cup.
I would add whole chicken. A whole one (although not organic/free range) can be under $5, sometimes even under $3. I often roast a whole chicken at the start of the week, have one big chicken dinner, then use the leftovers in salads and pasta for the entire week, and finally use the carcass to make soup or stock.
— Emily B.This list (with modifications, based on local crops and preferences for types of beans and green/leafy vegetables or sources of grains, etc.) is more-or-less a list of staples in developing countries.
Also, this list contains foods our grandparents and great grandparents regularly prepared and consumed before highly processed foods dominated the food supply.
What I have come to realize in the past couple of years, as I have decided to be more in control of what I eat (less dependent upon processors to look after my welfare) is that I used to spend far too much on food.
So the idea is–not that these are cheaper foods–but that the foods most of us eat are TOO EXPENSIVE.
And as someone with sufficient resources to eat well, here is what “TOO EXPENSIVE” means to me:
The manufacturer does not add sufficient VALUE to warrant the price. In fact, many foods have more value BEFORE manufacturers allegedly “add value” (the concept all food manufacturers espouse, as their mission in serving consumers).
There are few key inputs to consumers, before they recognize the intrinsic value of so-called “cheap foods:”
1. We (they…all of us) have to understand how to prepare foods, without too much time or trouble, and know how to make them taste good. This is a barrier, considering that so many Americans literally know nothing about cooking (many NYTimes readers excepted)…but it’s not all that difficult to do;
2. People need information about the balance of nutrients they need (and the reasons why), and how much more easily we can get them, if we eat foods more like the ones on the list. This is also a big barrier. Yeah, yeah, people know things like “eat more vegetables, ” and “whole grains are good for you,” and “natural/organic is supposed to be good,” but very few understand about the balance of foods and nutrients we need (Who wants to pay attention to those pesky government food pyramids, after all?)
If someone could construct a dispassionate, quantitative assessment of the costs/risks/benefits of the American way of eating, we would be shocked. It doesn’t take a health food freak to see that we pay way to much for way to little nutritional benefit–not to mention the risks of disease that come with fats, sodium compounds, and refined carbohydrates used in many manufactured foods.
I’m not against moderate consumption of manufactured food…all I’m saying is that, as a country, we’ve got the balance all wrong.
— WesleySkip the list and summarize this as: eat less meat and get your protein from other sources.
Not only will it be good for budget, but it will be good for your arteries and good for the environment as well!!
— KAnother item that isn’t glamorous but is cheap, tasty and nutritious: frozen peas and carrots (complete protein, lots of vitamins) for $1 per large bag at Kroger.
Colorful side dish is 3 parts brown rice to 1 part wild rice done in an electric rice cooker. While rice on “keep warm”, saute the peas and carrots with diced onion and sliced fresh mushrooms in Smart Balance oil or spread. When veggies are done, mix with the rice. Top with shredded cheese if desired.
FROM TPP — I don’t know what I would do without frozen peas. I put them in everything.
— Carol, NMIf you want to eat eggs from chicken that have been treated fairly you can get them, in Manhattan at least for $2 a half dozen. Twice as much at the cost quoted by DivineCaroline but still relatively inexpensive for protein.
Many mass market egg producers CUT OFF THE ENDS OF THE HENS’ BEAKS so they will not peck each other to death in the extremely tiny cages they live in packed four to a cage.
I buy ny eggs from the farmers’ market when I can and I can often buy pastured eggs. These come from chicken that walk around in the barnyard eating, in addition to chicken feed, insects and whatever else they evolved to eat. The eggs are naturally high in Omega -3s.
— DonnaActually meat is available as a low-cost protein for those looking to cook a balanced diet economically: chicken, pork and beef are all available in various cuts for $2 or less per pound, and some of the low-cost cuts are the low-fat ones (e.g., for London broil) as well.
For those who are on a budget but not too careful about their vegetarian selections, such meats are more likely a more healthful solution.
— LJTwo points:
All rice–brown, white, wild–are grasses [family Poaceae].
Brown rice is terrible; grounds for divorce.
— inland JimHow about the New Orleans favorite, black beans and rice?
— Carl Ian SchwartzAlso, pasta e fagioli (pasta fazool) with a salad is a good, cheap, nourishing meal.
Regarding frozen foods being better: Only if you have ample freezer space. Canned fruits and vegetables are much easier to store, and are particularly useful if you do not live near a grocery store. So it would not be out of place on a nutrition blog to give people the skinny on which canned produce goods are best, both in terms of taste and nutrition, and which should be skipped.
FROM TPP — There’s so little data on this is the problem. I choose organic canned food but to my knowledge, the only BPA-free cans are a few brands that make organic beans. It’s very difficult to find BPA-free canned foods, but hopefully that will happen soon.
— BarbaraAbout the pumpkin seeds… while they can be expensive to buy on their own, remember that most winter squash seeds can be prepared in the same way. So when you’re preparing your tasty butternut squash from this list, save the seeds, rinse them, dry them, toss them with a dash of olive oil and salt, and toast for a great snack!
Spaghetti squash is another great, inexpensive winter squash meal with edible seeds.
— VetStudentHi Tara,
This is an important and timely topic choice. Thanks for starting the discussion.
Reading up to comment #12 as I post this, I think several posters make important comments, especially #6 and #12.
On this particular list, I’m concerned that the 4 main food allergens are there, with no substitutes mentioned (necessary, even if the substitutes cost a little more than the token “dollar”). Knowing what’s “next best” would help lots.
Many people have one, or even all, of these as daily health issues - wheat, dairy, eggs, soy. I think there are ways to improve this condition — but that’s not part of this today — so we have to deal with people’s health as we find it, and massive numbers of people live with food sensitvity and allergy
And, I’m also concerned that 2 more slots on this list from DivineCaroline are taken by a very seasonal, albeit healthy, fruit - watermelon, and a non-food, for which I see no benefit, except for certain momentary conditions for asthmatics or low-blood pressure, and that of course is to allow coffee a slot.
I think the seasonal fruit could be balanced with a winter fruit of same value nutritionally and it be a shared spot, depending on seasonal availability.
I would like to see the coffee replaced period. If one wanted to include a beverage, I would rather see spring water or certain teas, even if a bit more expensive, than coffee, ever.
I’d gladly pay $1.25 or $1.50 a serving for a few foods as substitutes if they give a lot more nutritional punch or access to health.
I’ll follow the links and see what else is there, but I think that sharing the list to get people thinking in these terms is very valuable.
Have a Happy New Year, one and all, and let’s start it off in a healthier way!
Best to all — Em
— Emhttp://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com
“Everyone Knows Someone Who Needs This Information!” (TM)
I’m making a great dinner for 8 people for under $35 tonight, including a roasted leg of lamb, a huge green salad, and fresh bread. The same meal for 8 at a restaurant would cost a few hundred dollars!
— EmilyI think that the main trick to eating well for less is to buy basic, fresh ingredients and cook at home. In college I used to make huge pots of lentil or pea soup using dried beans that would feed 10+ people, and the whole pot of soup only cost about $3 to make.
Vegetarian foods are the cheapest, but like another commenter mentioned, a whole chicken is pretty cheap as well and you can get at least 4 or 5 servings out of it.
Colcannon is delicious. I’ve been eating it all my life. I saute chopped, steamed kale (or collard greens) with scallion and garlic for more flavour before mashing into the potatoes. Skip the butter (Kerrygold? oh, please, are Kerry dairymen paying DivineCaroline to write this?). I use olive oil now. Enjoy.
— kimIt’s a fine list of foods but the $1 amount seems arbitrary and not applicable. $1 for a half dozen eggs? Eggs are normally sold by the dozen. A bag of garbanzos is almost $2. A box of whole grain pasta is over $1. And almost all unprepared staple foods are under $1 a serving, fruits, grains, vegetables, even meat.
The common factor of these foods is not the cost but the fact that they are unprepared, basic foods.
And obviously the original site meant wild rice, not brown rice, because it says you can mix it with brown rice. No confusion on her part over wild vs. brown.
— FreddieThey’re vegetables, not “veggies.” This is the New York Times, right? Home of good writing? We’re all grown-ups here — we can handle words with more than two syllables.
FROM TPP — I’ve moderated more than 60,000 comments in the past year. Sometimes I take short cuts when I comment on one of them. I think there is a difference between my personal conversations with readers (where I might use a word like ‘veggies’) and the journalism I write for the Times.
— Marie